The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-08
JUTE AND RAMIE.
Discoveries That Will Signify Many
Millions of Wealth.
From the ST. Louis Republican.

From the st. Louis Republican.
Prof. S. Waterhouse, of Washington Uni
versity, is in particularly good humor just
now over the prospective accomplishment
of a work that he has been engaged in for
fifteen years past. In 1901 report and
recommendations of the Department of Ag-
riculture of the United States directed the
professors attention to the cultivation of
int and its sister fibres. A year later dur
ing his trip around the world, he studied the
habits, peculiarities and possibilities of the
fibre in its China home. His deep investi-
cation at that time satisfied him that Ameri-
"a might become the great iute country of
the globe, and ever since his return from
that trip his chief aim in life has been to
educate the American public up TO an APP
probation of the fibre par excel
ience, in his opinion, of COM
merce After ten years of hard
study, able writing and the successful re-
moval of seemingly insurmountable obsta-
cles, he had tine satisfaction of seeing large
quantities of jute grown in the Southern
States. Another barrier to successful jute
culture arose, however, in the entire alb
sence Of machinery to free the fibre from
its woody surroundings, and place it as an
article to use in the weaving factories of
the country. AT the suggestion of scien-
fists. including Prof. Waterhouse, several
governments of the Old World have Of
fered large bonuses for the invention of a
successful decorticating process. Appar-
emily the difficulty could not be overcome,
for Notwithstanding the faithful efforts of
able men the valuable but unwieldly fibre
remained Stubbornly hidden in its woody
coat until within the past few months. The
inventors in their researches had no clew to
THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM
before them more than the methodist
incomplete and unsatisfactory-empl
by the native Chinese and Hindoo agricul-
turists. These people, after cutting the
lutte, were accustomed to allow it to lie for
a few days i'll the sun, until it was thor
oughly withered and then they submerged
it in either cold running or warm stagnant
water If the cold running water were en-
ployed, the process of disintegratlon took
several weeks, but from that process the
fibre came forth white, brittle strong and
glossy. BY the warm stagnant water pro-
cess, the disintegration Of the plant was ac-
complished in ten days or less, but the fibre
seemed to have acquired an ugly stain,
from which it was difficult to free it, and it
was certainly less strong and glossy.
With these physical facts to guide
them, inventors, especially Ameri-
cans, have ,labored increasingly and
well: and it is the successful issue of
those labors which has caused Prof. Water
house such wholesome pleasure. A fibre
company of New York, corporate institu-
ton formed for the purpose, has succeeded
in disintegrating the resisting jute, and has
so thoroughly accomplished the purpose in
tended that another fibre of the same spe-
cies, namely, ramie, hitherto entirely I'M
tractable, has been subverted to practical
domestic uses. Prof. Waterhouse has re-
ceived several samples of fibre from the
company, in various stages of disintegra-
ton, within the past fortnight and also a
letter explanatory of the process, which
gave the result. John H. Brown, of Mil
waukee, secretary of the company, writes
that the fibre is freed from the wood in
which it grows by treatment in mild, dis
migrating solution and by a circulating
pressure; the mass of jute or ramie is re-
duced to almost pulp, and through that
are passed
CURRENTS OF ELECTRICITY.
1.-THE acid in the FIBRE" writes the Secre-
tary, seems to have an affinity for the
electricity, and its action is most satisfac-
tory" OF course, most of the process is a
secret but in the samples of its work sent
TO Prof. Waterhouse, the result is striking,
to say the least. One specimen of the jute
was obtained from Calcutta; in it the pro-
cess has only gone so far as to remove the
outer bark-the brittle wood of the outside
each fibre is perhaps four feet in length,
very strong and of yellowish color. Most
of the other samples We're obtained in the
Southern part of the United States, and a
few from Old Mexico. The process is shown
both in jute and ramie, in various stages
of completion, the jute from the mere
stripping off of the outer bark, as described
above, to the preparation of the fibre for
the LOOM The ranlie, much finer, stronger
fibre, with greater possibilities, as concerns
its range of usefulness, is shown to advan-
tage, and on inspection is certainly most
beautiful fibre. In its completed state of
dislntegration each fibre is at least four
feet long-the full length of the plant from
which it has been taken-fine as silk and
bleached to the whiteness of the cleanest
snow.
The qualities of the FIBRE" said Prof,
Waterhouse, 'are largely those of silk; it
so successfully initiates both silk and satin
that one must be a rare judge to detect the
difference between the two 1t has all the
gloss of silk, is stronger-in fact, the strong
est fibre known-is certainly as fine in the
finished state, and has therecognized advan-
tage of being independent in its culture of
the slow process of the silk worm.n
Refined ranlie can be used for almost all
the finer grades of cloth. From it is made
seersucker, that is, the most expensive quail.
lty; broadcloth is also woven ramie, and one
Of the samples sent to Prof. Waterhouse is
piece Of seal plush. II is by far the hand
soonest quality of plush madeline, soft as
seal, beautifully dyed and heavy. Several
other samples are dyed and tinted; ramie
submits most gracefully to colors and holds
them fast.
IN SPEAKING OF JUTE
and ramie culture in America, Prof. Water
house said that there were hundreds of
thousands of acres in the South, from the
Rio Grande to North Carolina, that would
prove highly lucrative if planted in either
Jute or ramie, and he was of opinion that
not less than $500, 100000 ought to be
realized by the United States annually from
the two industries. In Texas there is a
mammoth ramie-growing company incor-
porated under the name of the Texas
Ramie Planting Association" Its head
quarters are at Yorktown, Dewitt county,
Texas, and among other things it claims
that in the coming spring it will be able to
supply the country with either seed or roots.
The company intends next season to raise
large quantities of the plant for textile pur-
poses
NEW YORKS MARKETS FOR WIVES
The Four Great Matrimonial Mart5 of
tho NotrnnnIid